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full screen The rules for growing industrial hemp should become clearer. Archive image. Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP/TT
Farmers should be able to continue growing industrial hemp without breaking the drug law. But special permits should be required, the Medical Products Agency believes.
Cannabis can be grown for several different purposes, including for the production of industrial hemp, pharmaceutical production and for use for intoxicating purposes.
It has been unclear which handling of cannabis is legal and which is illegal. The Swedish Medicines Agency, on behalf of the government, has therefore drawn up a proposal for clearer regulations, and how the cultivation of hemp covered by the EU’s agricultural policy can be ensured in Sweden.
All cannabis, except for fibers and seeds, should be classified as narcotics, suggests the Swedish Medicines Agency.
Farmers who grow industrial hemp should be able to do so without breaking the law, but handling the plant parts that can be used for drug production will require a permit, according to the proposal.
To obtain a permit, cultivation must be done outdoors by farmers. Permission is granted by the Medical Products Agency.
The authority also proposes that requirements for permits at each entry and exit and transit be abolished to avoid trade barriers within the EU.
FACT Hemp
Hemp products come from the plant Cannabis sativa.
To be allowed to grow hemp in Sweden, you must grow a variety that is approved as industrial hemp, and apply for farm support. All other cultivation of hemp is considered drug production.
For all the approved varieties, the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the substance that can cause intoxication when ingested, is a maximum of 0.30 percent.
Certain hemp products may be used as food, including seeds, flour, hemp protein, seed butter and seed oil.
Source: Swedish Food Agency, Swedish Agricultural Agency, Region Stockholm.
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